Generally, semiconductor integrated circuit devices are tested when manufacturing the devices, after manufacturing the devices, or when packaging the devices, in order to verify whether the devices are manufactured while the whole or partial electric characteristics of the devices exactly correspond to the original design of the devices.
The equipment for performing the above-mentioned test is probe equipment with a test apparatus and a probe card. The probe card serves to electrically connect a various electrical signals-generating part in the test apparatus and a pad in the semiconductor integrated circuit device, or an electric signal detecting part in the test apparatus and the pad in the semiconductor integrated circuit device.
One of the conventional probe cards is a needle-type probe card, which is shown in FIG. 1. The needle-type probe card includes needle-type probes 12 each having a bent end. The body of each needle-type probe 12 is disposed on a prescribed position of a fixing member 13, and is then fixedly attached to the fixing member 13 by means of epoxy. The fixing member 13 is attached to a main circuit board 11. The other end of the needle-type probe 12 is connected to a prescribed circuit of the main circuit board 11 by means of soldering. In this way, the probe card is prepared. Elasticity is required in order to stably connect the needle to a pad of the semiconductor integrated circuit device. However, the level and position of the needle-type probe is distorted when it is repeatedly used. Consequently, the conventional needle-type probe card has a drawback in that maintenance and repair of the probe are required when the needle-type probe card is used.
Another conventional probe card is a vertical-type probe card, which is shown in FIG. 2. At the upper surface of a main circuit board 21 is disposed a fixing plate 23, and at the lower surface of the main circuit board 21 are disposed a plurality of guide plates 24. Through the main circuit board 21, the fixing plate 23, and the guide plates 24 are formed a plurality of through-holes, which are regularly arranged at the corresponding positions of the main circuit board 21, the fixing plate 23, and the guide plates 24. Through through-holes are inserted needle-type probes 22, respectively. The ends of the needle-type probes drawn out from the fixing plate 23 are connected to prescribed circuits of the main circuit board 21, respectively, by means of soldering. In this way, the probe card is prepared. However, the vertical-type probe card also has a drawback in that the level of the probe is distorted when it is repeatedly used, and thus the elasticity thereof is lost, as with the above-mentioned needle-type probe. Furthermore, the vertical-type probe card has another drawback in that electrical interaction is caused between adjacent needles when the probe card is used to test a high-speed operating type semiconductor integrated circuit since the needles are long and arranged adjacent to each other, and thus accuracy of the test is lowered.
Any one of the needle-type probe card and the vertical-type probe card has a relatively large size. On the other hand, an element, which is to be tested, becomes increasingly miniaturized and precise according to the advancement of the technology. Consequently, any one of the needle-type probe card and the vertical-type probe card has a drawback in that a miniaturized and precise element is not appropriately tested. In other words, no relatively large probe card can test all elements on a wafer, as the arrangement of a plurality of pads on the elements formed on the wafer is compact and dense. As a result, it is required that several tests be performed on one wafer.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems, there have been invented compact and miniaturized probe cards. Representative examples of such compact and miniaturized probe cards are a micro spring-type probe card and a cantilever-type probe card.
The micro spring-type probe card is shown in FIG. 3a, and the micro spring-type probe card is manufactured as follows: A bump 33 is formed on a substrate 32 as shown in FIG. 3b. To the bump 33 is connected a probe-shaped wire 34a by means of a wire bonder. The wire 34a is plated at the surface thereof so that the wire 34a is thick and strong. An additional silicon wafer 35 is etched, and then plated, to form a supporting beam 34b and a probe tip 34c. The supporting beam 34b is bonded to the wire 34a so that a spring-type probe 34 with the probe tip 34 is formed. After the spring-type probe 34 is formed as mentioned above, the silicon wafer 35 is removed. The substrate 32 with the above-mentioned construction is attached to a main circuit board 31 by means of an additional reinforcing member 36 as shown in FIG. 3a. 
The cantilever-type probe card is shown in FIG. 4a, and the cantilever-type probe card is manufactured as follows: A bump 43 is formed on a substrate 42 as shown in FIG. 4b. On an additional silicon wafer 44 are formed a probe tip 45b and a supporting beam 45a. Subsequently, one end of the bump 43 is bonded to one end of the supporting beam 45a to form a probe 45 with the probe tip 45b. After the probe is formed as mentioned above, the silicon wafer 44 is removed. The substrate 42 with the above-mentioned construction is attached to a main circuit board 41 by means of an additional reinforcing member 46 as shown in FIG. 4a. 
By means of the micro spring-type probe card and the cantilever-type probe card, a test on a wafer having integrated elements formed thereon is smoothly performed.
However, the probe beam and the probe tip are arranged level with each other (34b and 34c in FIG. 3b, 45a and 45b in FIG. 4b). When pads on an element, which is to be tested, are aggregated more closely, and when the arrangement of the pads on the element is complicated, a problem is caused. In the case that the cantilever-type probe card shown in FIG. 4a is used to test a wafer having the arrangement of elements 51 as shown in FIG. 5a, for example, it is required that the cantilever-type probe card be constructed as shown in FIG. 5b. Specifically, it is required that all probes 61a be disposed on a unit substrate 61 (FIG. 5b) of a probe card 60 (FIG. 5b) having a size corresponding to that of the element in order to test all pads 51a (FIG. 5a) on each element. When the probes are arranged along the sides, however, it may be not possible to arrange the probes at corners. In this case, therefore, some of the probes are arranged over adjacent unit substrates 61. Consequently, it is required that tests on the wafer be performed two or more times.
In the case that the pads on a wafer, which is to be tested, are arranged in straight lines, the cantilever-type probe has an arrangement as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b. The pitch p indicated in the FIG. 6a corresponds to the distance between two adjacent pads on the wafer. It is easily understood that the pitch p is larger than the width w of each probe 65. When the distance between the pads on the wafer is smaller than the width w of the probe 65, therefore, the test cannot be rapidly performed.
In the conventional probe cards as describe above, increase of the number of the probes is restricted. Consequently, it is impossible to test a plurality of semiconductor devices at once, which does not satisfy the desires of the semiconductor device manufacturers who are trying to increase efficiency of the test.